NEW DELHI, Mar 1 (NNN-PTI) – India’s civil aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), yesterday imposed a fine of three million Indian Rupees (around 36,180 U.S. dollars) on private airline “Air India,” for failing to provide a wheelchair to an octogenarian passenger, resulting in his death earlier this month.
The 80-year-old passenger died at the airport, in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, on Feb 12, as he was walking after alighting from Air India’s international flight, as the airline’s staff failed to arrange a wheelchair for him.
While the airline’s staff arranged a wheelchair for the deceased’s wife, they couldn’t arrange one for him. The old man suffered a heart attack and collapsed, while walking a distance of 1.5 km from the tarmac up to the exit gate. He was rushed to a nearby medical facility but couldn’t survive.
The incident attracted enough criticism on the part of airlines, as the DGCA sternly told them to maintain enough numbers of wheelchairs at all airports at all times.– NNN-PTI
